Pakistan is following China's example in choosing to declare a total ban on the use of all cryptocurrencies, according to local media outlet samaa.tv. Apart from that, the source article mentions that the Pakistani financial authority is conducting an investigation against the Binance exchange.
The article was shared on Twitter by Chinese blogger and crypto journalist Colin Wu.
According to local Pakistani media samaa tv, The State Bank of Pakistan and the federal government have decided to ban the use of all cryptocurrencies. Pakistan has also just launched an investigation into Binance. https://t.co/MtnaDVtbAc
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) January 13, 2022
State Bank of Pakistan to impose ban on crypto
The article by samaa tv states that the State Bank of Pakistan and the country's federal government have come to the decision to declare the use of cryptocurrencies illegal. The article cites a report filed by the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Dec. 12.
The court has been conducting hearings on the cryptocurrency case. Now the country's central bank has urged the court to both ban crypto and penalize crypto exchanges that are operating in the region.
Until now, the status of crypto and digital assets was basically undecided by authorities due to the lack of legislation for regulating crypto trading activities.
The situation has been developing since October of last year when the SHC ordered the federal government to impose crypto regulations within a period of three months. The court also required a report that would determine the legal status of crypto; a special committee was formed for that.
The report has been issued and was filed with the court on Dec. 12. It says that all crypto assets are illegal and should be banned from trading. One of the reasons for the ban is that crypto can be used for money laundering and funding acts of terrorism.
To impose the ban, a legal framework would be created later on.
The document says that almost a dozen other countries, among which are Saudi Arabia and China, have prohibited any use of cryptocurrencies, including crypto trading.
Investigation against Binance
The report also mentions the ongoing investigation against Binance and OctaFx crypto exchanges conducted by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Pakistan, with no further details provided.
Pakistan is not the first country that has been hostile to Binance since last year. The U.K., Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Malta and several Asian countries have announced that the world's largest exchange has been operating in their jurisdictions without any legal permission, making Binance withdraw from those territories.
Valeria Blokhina
Tomiwabold Olajide
Gamza Khanzadaev
